Dear Shalom,
With regard to the notion of moral progress as an explanation for some
ethically problematic Torah laws, especially slavery, this approach was
championed by Eliezer Berkovits z"l, popularly by Rav Riskin, and most
recently by Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, I believe in an Orthodox Forum volume.
The difficulty with this approach that most bothers me is how one
determines which laws are concessions to past morality, and therefore
should be updated in kind, and how one argues with those who seem over
exuberant in this regard.
Apologetics for eved knaani tend to run afoul of the apparent prohibition
against freeing slaves. My current approach, which may be too apologetic,
is to rule like the (I believe majority) position that no Gentile can ever
be forced to undergo the partial conversion necessary for status as an
eved knaani; to connect that with the (universally agreed) prohibition
(accepting as few qualifications as possible) that a Jew may not possess a
Gentile slave for more than 12 months unless he undergoes that conversion;
and thus to conclude that the status of eved knaani is always voluntarily
accepted as a way station to conversion, and forbidden in any other
context. The challenge of lo t'chaneim I meet as follows: In my shiur
"Are workers more than wage slaves?", available in the Social Policy
section www.summerbeitmidrash,org), I seek to demonstrate that autonomy
from other human beings, resulting from avdut to Hashem exclusively (ki li
bnei yisrael avadim - li avadim velo avadim laavadim), is a defining
characteristic of Jewishness. A slave voluntarily freed by a master never
attains the sense that his freedom stems from his essence, rather than
from another human being's will. Therefore, an eved may not be freed,
i.e. made Jewish, by another human being's free will. Accordingly,
Halakhah forbids freeing slaves, except for a dvar mitzvah, where the
freedom would be owing to Divine command. For a deserving slave, however,
a master would be encouraged to arrange, for example, that slave's
necessity for a minyan, which would compel his manumission.
However, my wife Deborah Klapper notes that this fails to explain the
status of these avadim's children, and there are mekorot that pose
challenges as well.
On the substance of the Rambam and sacrifice, my shiur at the YCT Tanakh
Ymei Iyyun should be online at their site soon. I tentatively address
this topic, as well as the general question of ethically challenging
halakhot, in two pieces avaialble in the Hashkafa section of www.summer
beitmidrash.org, "Conscience and Law in Judaism" (also available as
"Always Listen for Angels" at yctorah.org) and "Amalek and Eden".
Thanks and appreciation as always for your work creating this wonderful
virtual community.
Aryeh Klapper
Dean, The Center for Modern Torah Leadership
Instructor of Rabbinic Literature, Gann Academy
